10. Bamboo Curry

A. WARMER

Have you ever eaten a dish made of bamboo? Let's read this story and find out which part of bamboo can be cooked and eaten.

One day the mother-in-law of a Santhal bridegroom cooked a special dish for him when he visited her.

"This curry is delicious. What is it?" The mother-in-law pointed at the bamboo door.

Next morning, just as he was about to leave, he remembered that there was no bamboo in his village.

So he removed the bamboo door and carrying it with him left for his home.

On reaching his village, he told his wife, "Make curry with this bamboo door."

She was shocked. "How can I make curry out of a bamboo door?"

"Come, I'll help you by chopping up the bamboo," he said.

His wife boiled it and boiled it.
Later when her husband tasted it he said,
"It's too hard to eat.
You don't know how to cook."

His wife added more water and boiled it and boiled it.

"It's still too hard. I can't eat it."

The in-laws came to visit the young couple that evening.
They all laughed at his foolishness.
The mother-in-law said,
"Didn't you know the curry was made from bamboo shoot and not from a bamboo door?

(A Santhal folk tale)

TEXT QUESTIONS AND THEIR ANSWERS

B. COMPREHENSION :
B.1. Think and Tell:

Q. 1. He was the bridegroom of which tribe?
Ans. He was the bridegroom of the Santhal tribe.

Q. 2. From what was the curry made?
Ans. The curry was made of bamboo shoot.

Q. 3. Why did the in-laws laugh at the young couple?
Ans. The in laws laughed at the innocence of the young couple.

B.2. Think and Write:

B.2.1. Answer in a word or a sentence.

Q. 1. What did the mother-in-law cook for his son-in-law ?
Ans. Bamboo-curry.

Q. 2. Why did the Santhal bridegroom believe that the dish is made of the bamboo door?
Ans. The Santhal bridegroom believed that the dish was made of the bamboo door because he was ignorant and his mother-in-law pointed so.

Q. 3. Why did he carry the bamboo door to his village?
Ans. He wanted to make bamboo curry at his home but there was no bamboo in his village, so he carried the bamboo door.

Q. 4. Why was the dish made by his wife so hard?
Ans. Really, the bamboo curry is made of bamboo shoot, but his wife made the curry with bamboo pieces, so it was hard.

C. WORD POWER

C.1. Complete the sentences meaningfully.
(i) The bridegroom left with the door of his in-laws’ house because it was made of ………. and there was no bamboo in his ……….
(ii) The bridegroom was unable to have bamboo curry in the end because ………

Ans. (i) bamboo; village, (ii) he was ignorant of it.

C.2.Fill in the blanks with words from the story.
(i) The bridegroom went to visit his ……..
(ii) The mother-in-law pointed …… the bamboo door.
(iii) He stayed at the night ……….. his in-laws.
(iv) He carried the ……… back with him.
(v) The curry was made ……….. bamboo shoots.

Ans. (i) mother-in-law, (ii) at, (iii) with, (iv) door, (v) of.

D. GRAMMAR

Read the following sentences carefully.
(a) He said, “It’s too hard to eat.”
(b) He said, “I can’t eat it.”
(c) He told his wife, “Make curry with this bamboo door.”
(d) “What is it ?” he asked.
(e) The mother-in-law said, “Didn’t you know the curry was made from bamboo shoot ?”

Mark that each sentence given above consists of two parts, one within the inverted commas and another outside it. The part within inverted commas is called reported speech and the part outside it is called reporting clause. Reported speech is also called direct speech. We can change direct speeches into indirect ones as follows:

(a) He said that it was too hard to eat.
(b) He said that he couldn’t eat that.
(c) He asked his wife to make curry with the bamboo door.
(d) He asked what it was.
(e) The mother-in-law asked if he had not known the curry was made from bamboo shoot.

Make the differences between the sentences in direct speech and indirect speech. Then do the following exercises.

D.1. Write direct speech or indirect speech against the sentences given below.
(a) “This curry is delicious”, he said.
(b) She said, “How can I make curry out of a bamboo door?”
(c) She asked him to post the letter.
(d) “Come, I’ll help you by chopping up the bamboo,” he said.
(e) The mother-in-law told him how to make bamboo curry.

Ans. (a) direct, (b) direct, (c) indirect, (d) direct, (e) indirect.

D.2. Change the speech of the following sentences.
(a) “I am writing a letter,” he said to his mother.
(b) She said, “I’ll help you.”
(c) ‘Can you show me the way?’ he said.
(d) The teacher said to me, “Post the letter.”
(e) “Are you serious?” She said.

Ans. (a) He said to his mother that he was writing a letter.
(b) She said that she would help him.
(c) He asked him if he could show him the way.
(d) The teacher asked him to post the letter.
(e) She asked if I was serious.

D.3.Answer in not more than 50 words:

Q. (i) Why did the son-in-law commit the mistake?
Ans. The son-in-law was ignorant of bamboo curry. So, he committed the mistake to make curry of bamboo pieces in place of bamboo shoot.

Q. (ii) Why and how did the wife of Santhal tribe try to make the dish soft?
Ans. Bamboo is a hard wood. The Santhal lady was ignorant of bamboo curry. So, to make the bamboo curry stable she tried to make it soft.

E. LET’S TALK AND WRITE

1. Name food that is made in your home.
(i) For a feast / festival
(ii) When you are well
(iii) Everyday

Do you have a similar dish in your area made from a mix of many vegetables?
(a) What is it called?
(b) Note down the ingredients used to make it.
(c) Write down the recipe.
(d) Present the recipe attractively and display it on your class board.
You can draw or stick picture too.

Hints: Do yourself.

F. TRANSLATION:

Translate into English:
1. तुम्हारा प्रिय भोजन क्या है ?
2. मुझे मिठाई खाना बहुत पसंद है ।
3. मछली मांसाहारी भोजन है।
4. मैं शाकाहारी हूँ।

Ans. 1. What is your favourite food?
2. I like to eat sweets very much.
3. Fish is a non-vegetarian food.
4. I am a vegetarian.